§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the EU Management Committee for the Control and Production of Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer is next due to meet; whether representatives of the Scottish Executive(a) have been and (b) are members of it; and if she will make a statement. [68556]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
The next meeting of the Management Committee established under Article 18 of EC Regulation 2037–2000 on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is scheduled for 18 and 19 September 2002. Places per EU member state at this committee are limited so the UK delegates to the meeting represent the interests of the Scottish Executive. As with other committees of this type, the Department consults the Scottish Executive and the other devolved Administrations on the UK line.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the EU Committee for the Implementation of the Directive on the Incineration of Hazardous Waste is next due to meet; whether representatives of the Scottish Executive(a) have been and (b) are members of it; and if she will make a statement. [68560]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
There have been no meetings of such a committee. None is now likely, since that directive (94/67/EC) has been superseded by Directive 2000/76/EC on the incineration of waste and is to be repealed from 28 December 2005.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the EU Committee for the application of the regulation authorising voluntary participation by undertakings in the industrial sector in a Community eco-management and audit scheme is next due to meet; whether representatives of the Scottish Executive(a) have been and (b) are members of it; and if she will make a statement. [68562]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
The next meeting is scheduled for October 23 and October 24 this year. The European Commission has not yet circulated a final agenda.
As all foreign policy issues are non devolved, relations with the European Union are the responsibility of the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, as member state.
The UK is represented at the committee by DEFRA and accompanied by a representative from the designated Competent Body for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Representatives from the Scottish Executive have not attended. Other Departments and devolved Administrations are consulted prior to meetings of the committee on matters that are of direct interest to them. The Competent Body liaises with each of the devolved Administrations on routine matters concerning the operation of the scheme within the UK.
We actively support EMAS, whose aims are to encourage organisations to commit to legal compliance and continuous improvement in their environmental
80Wperformance and to publish an environmental statement. The scheme was set up in 1993 by EU Regulation 1836–93 and became fully operational in April 1995. The regulation was revised in 2001 by Regulation 761–2001 which among other things widened participation from industrial sites to all forms of organisation. To register for EMAS an organisation must have its environmental management system verified and its environmental statement validated by an independent and accredited "verifier". The Competent Body for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland maintains a public register of participants together with information about the scheme at www.emas.org.uk. Similar information at the EU level is also held on the European Commission's website at http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/emas/.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the EU Committee for the Implementation of the Directive on Concerning Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control is next due to meet; whether representatives of the Scottish Executive(a) have been and (b) are members of it; and if she will make a statement. [68559]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
There is no committee of that precise title. However, the European Commission has convened since 1998 five annual meetings of an 'Expert Group' on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) in relation to the 1996 directive concerning that subject. The most recent meeting was in February this year and the next is expected, although not yet scheduled, in the early part of 2003. Members of the Scottish Executive have not so far attended, although they would be welcome to join officials of the Department in doing so.